The Unholy Consult
The success of the expedition either destroyed Inrithism (the Orthodox position) or actualized it (as the Zaudunyani claim). Either way, the bulk of Inrithi institutions and dogma survived intact under the otherwise bloody rule of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, unlike Fanimry, which was all but destroyed.
Inrûmmi (4058—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, ranking member of the Scarlet Spires, assumed lost at the Battle of Shimeh.
Inshull (?—?)—One of the Chieftain-Kings named in the Tusk.
Insinger—Archaic term for sorcerer.
Inskarra, Saweor (4061—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Earl of the Thunyeri province of Skagwa, slain at Anwurat.
Interdiction—The embargo on communication between the Great Ordeal and the New Empire declared by Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Interval—Name of the man-sized tubular bell used by the Great Ordeal to communicate time and orders. Originally cast in Seleukara, the bell was transported to Holy Sumna, where priests belonging to various Colleges and Cults were charged with inscribing its exterior with their holiest benedictions. The bell was subsequently mounted on a great, oaken wain drawn by a team of four oxen, and manned by four priests (including one eunuch) and six Shrial slaves (all of whom would be executed en route to Golgotterath).
Intrinsic Gate—The ensorcelled gate raised by Nil’giccas, sealing the rent portion the High Horn upon the summit of the Scab. Known to the Nonmen by the same name they had given its Inchoroi predecessor, Ûbil Noscisor, ‘Shut Teeth’ (Ihrimsû). Now located within the citadel of the High Cwol.
Inûnara Highlands—A region of foothills to the northeast of the Unaras Spur of the Hethanta Mountains.
The Inverse Fire—Xir’kirimakra (Cûno-Cincûlic). Subparticular intentional field machine linking individual observational frames of reference to their eternal fate in the Outside. Given that the Gods are both jealous and connoisseurs, most souls peering into the Inverse Fire discover the fact of their eternal damnation, an experience so profound as to drive all who witness it into the horrifying embrace of the Consult. This was what rendered Mekeritrig an inevitable consequence of Cet’ingira’s survival, and why Apocalypse has always clustered as bees about this perpetually disastrous device.
Inversi—Ursranc specifically bred to guard the Upright Horn, and thus the Inverse Fire. More heavily armoured and armed, they are also more disciplined and cunning. An upside-down flame traced in gold is their emblem.
Inversions—Daimotic Cants of Dispossession, or more generally, sorcery allowing the souls of the living to wander the ways of the dead. Outlawed by the Thousand Temples, eschewed by the Mandate, Inversions are the most feared discipline of the Daimos, especially within the Scarlet Spires.
Invishi—The commercial and spiritual capital of Nilnamesh, and one of the most ancient cities of the Three Seas.
Inward Stair—The great stair running from the Pith of Ishterebinth, across the upward face of the Ilculcû Rift beneath the Hanging Citadels, down to the Chthonic Manse.
Iothiah—A great Old Dynasty city located on the Sempis Delta.
Irreüma—A so-called “all-Gods temple” located in the administrative quarter of the Hagerna. Though its architecture belongs to the classical Kyranean period, its provenance is unknown.
Irsalfus, Hiappus (4068—4132)—The first Schoolman to be killed in the Culling.
Iros—Viritic name for Antareg. See Antareg.
Iryssas, Krijates (4089—4121)—Man-of-the-Tusk, young and impetuous major-domo of House Krijates, and cousin to Krijates Xinemus. Lost in calm seas off the coast of southern Conriya.
Ishoiya—Sheyic for “uncertainty.” The so-called Day of Doubt, an Inrithi holy day celebrated in late summer, commemorating the spiritual turmoil and renewal undergone by Inri Sejenus during his imprisonment in Xerash. Among the less pious, Ishoiya is renowned as a day of copious drinking.
Ishoriöl—“Exalted Hall” (Ihrimsû). See Ishterebinth.
Ishroi—“Exalted Ones” (Ihrimsû). The name given to the Nonmen warrior castes.
Ishterebinth—“Exalted Stronghold” (Ûmeri derivation of the Ihrimsû, Ishtir’it). Mansion of Eärwa located to the west of the Demua Mountains, and the last surviving (and so often referred to as the House Charnel). Known as Ishoriöl (“Exalted Hall”) in the Isûphiryas, Ishterebinth was considered one of the premier cities of the Cûnuroi after Siöl and Cil-Aujas. One of the Nine, those Mansions older than the Isûphiryas, the founding of Ishoriöl is lost to the mists of prehistory. Tradition attributes the founding to the third Ladling (third generation following Tsonos), claiming the Hero Ûlkû’kolil as their founder, the problem being that the great southern Mansion of Incissal also claims Ûlkû’kolil as their founder (thus the ironic connotations of any reference to “the Sons of Ûlkû’kolil” in Nonman literary traditions, and Kû’jara-Kinmoi’s famous disparagement of his age-old competitor as the isullû’imiroi, or “Sons of Someone”). The tradition holds that Ûlkû’kolil, fleeing the House Primordial after seducing his stepmother (while wearing his father’s armour), traveled west chasing visions sent by Imimorûl, promising a new home bloody with Nonman silver, a “House Eschatological” to match and ultimately surpass the glory of Holy Siol.
This (likely apocryphal) prophecy of competition between Ishoriöl and Siol did not come to pass until the famed marriage of Queen Tsinirû (one of the most gifted of the Quyil) with Sin’niroiha, the Nonman King of Nihrimsûl, the ancient rival of Ku’jara-Kinmoi. Whether due to the wealth of her nimil mines, or the engineering marvel of the Vast Ingressus, or the formidable will of his sorceress wife, Sin’niroiha’s decision to relocate his court to Ishoriöl would have the effect of radically rewriting the politics of Eärwa. Almost overnight, ancient Nihrimsûl, the ageless rival to Siolan hegemony, became an outpost projecting a far different power. The subsequent birth of their son, Nil’giccas, would bring the Sons of Nihrimsûl into the House of Tsonos, and so removed illegitimacy as a perpetual pretext for Siolan aggression. The fusion of the more ancient mansion’s martial vigour with the commercial might and artistic sensibilities of Ishoriöl resulted in one of the most glorious periods of cultural efflorescence in Nonman history—ultimately to become the very House Eschatological prophesied, the one Mansion to survive both the apocalypse occasioning the arrival of Men and the apocalypse occasioning their departure.
Following the disaster of Pir-Minginnial, the remnants rallied about Sin’niroiha, and Ishoriöl, given its proximity to the Incû-Holoinas, found itself perpetually embattled, besieged no less than five times for spans exceeding ten years. Sin’niroiha, who had never been inoculated, became the last Nonman to die of old age during the Siege of the Second Delve, leaving his gifted son, Nil’giccas, the Seals of Nihrimsûl and Ishoriöl. As a Son of Tsonos, Nil’giccas was able to lead the other Mansions in a way his father could not.
See Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.
Ishuäl—“Exalted Grotto” (Ihrimsû). The secret fastness of the Kûniüric High Kings, located in the Demua Mountains, and subsequently inhabited by the Dûnyain.
Isiramûlis—“Hearth-cracker” (Ihrimsû). First of six Cinderswords forged by Emilidis, coveted in ancient times for the immunity it provided to Dragon fire.
Iskaul, Powtha (4094— )—General of the Twenty-ninth Imperial Column, stationed in Oswenta.
Israti—One of the Houses of the Congregate.
Israzi’horul—“Shining Men” (Aghurzoi). Sranc term for the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Issiral—“Fortune” (Shigeki). The name the White-Luck Warrior gives to Anasûrimbor Esmenet after she contracts him to murder Maithanet.
Istriya, Ikurei (4045—?)—The mother of Emperor Xerius III, once famed for her legendary beauty.
Istyuli Plains—A vast and largely semi-arid tableland running from the Yimelati Mountains in the north to the Hethanta Mountains in the south.
Isûphiryas—“Great Pit of Years” (Ihrimsû). The great work chronicling the history of the Nonmen prior to the Breaking of the Gate
s. In all likelihood it is the most ancient text in existence. Sometime in the fourth century, a copy of the Isûphiryas was given to Cûnwerishau by Nil’giccas, the Nonman King of Ishoriöl (Ishterebinth), as part of the ancient treaty between their two peoples—the first between Nonmen and Men. During the reign of the God-King Carû-Ongonean, five Ûmeri translations of the Isûphiryas were bequeathed to the Library of Sauglish. Four of these were destroyed in the Apocalypse. The fifth was saved by Seswatha, who delivered it to the scribes of the Three Seas.
As a historical chronicle, the Isûphiryas exhibits a number of peculiarities beyond its inhuman provenance and enormous length (Seswatha famously referred to it as the “great pyre of eyes”). For one, it relies on a place dating system: the year chronicled can only be determined by where the entry stands in relation to all other entries. As legend has it, this was why the Nonmen refer to it as a “pit”: the earlier the entry, the deeper the reader stands in the pit of history (recalling that for the Nonmen, the connotation of the term “pit” is general opposite that typically found in Mannish languages). The absence of any numerical dating system means, crucially, that the Isûphiryas is a perpetually living document, one that can only place events in historical context via the continuous inscription of present events. Although human historians generally find this vexing in the extreme, Nonmen scholars seem entirely unconcerned.
The second glaring peculiarity lies in the scriptural status the Isûphiryas enjoys among the Nonmen, who, seeing a holy analogue between the chronicle and their subterranean pilgrimages, believed it could only be read backward. The reader of the Isûphiryas, according to the Nonmen, had to descend into it, laying eye upon entry after entry, until arriving at the depth they had sought. The Isûphiryas itself recounts the execution of three different scholars for “despoiling the Holy Deep” whilst reading the chronicle. This so struck the Men of ancient Ûmeri that “consulting the pit” became a common idiom for delaying tactics during the Nonman Tutelage.
Iswa (c. 1450—c. 1530)—Legendary creator of the Iswazi. A despised Hapwee (the child of a Satiothi women raped by Nilnameshi soldiers), Iswa famously grew up as a prostitute in Domyot, and in this way secured the patronage of Xarah Wab-wabi, the feared and maligned Satta Warlock, who took him as a student and comfort-slave. A prodigy, Iswa very quickly outstripped his master. As a child of the street he knew well enough to conceal his burgeoning ability. According to legend, a dozen bronze and wooden figurines—little idols and fetishes he had filched for toys during his years on the street—were his sole possessions. These became the raw materials of an entirely new way to conceive sorcery, one which he would use to wreak vengeance upon Xarah Wab-wabi when he was scarcely twelve years old.
Iswazi—“Way of Iswa” (Ankmuri). A branch of sorcery that turns on the resonance between meanings and concrete things, via the medium of physical fetishes. The result is a sorcery in some ways more powerful yet generally less flexible than the Anagogis. Arcane legend offers several accounts of battles fought between Anagogic and Iswazi Magi, with the outcome favouring the former in group combat, and the latter in individual contests.
Ivory Gate—The northernmost gate of Caraskand, so named because of the pale sandstone used to construct it (as well as the Gate of Horns).
Iyengar, Nûkulk (4070—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk and Earl of Nangaelsa, slain at the Battle of Shimeh.
Iyiskû—The Inchoroi term for themselves.
Iyokus, Heramari (4014— )—Ordealman (and one-time Man-of-the-Tusk), chanv addict, and Grandmaster of the Scarlet Spires in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, often called the “Blind Necromancer.” Master of Spies to Hanamanu Eleäzaras during the time of the First Holy War, he was made Grandmaster immediately after the fall of Shimeh in 4112. Also called “Second Tutor” (Drusas Achamian being the first) of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, who was rumoured to have spent months with Iyokus in the fortress of Kiz (the “Scarlet Spires”) plumbing the depths of the Daimos in 4121.
J
Jahan Plains—The large, arid tableland that makes up the western frontier of Eumarna.
Jarutha—A small agricultural town some twenty miles southwest of Momemn.
Javreh—The slave-soldiers of the Scarlet Spires, famed for their ferocity in battle. The first unit was created in 3801 by Grandmaster Shinurta at the height of the Scholastic Wars.
Jekhia—A tributary nation of High Ainon, famed as the mysterious source of chanv, located at the headwaters of the River Sayut in the Great Kayarsus. The Men of Jekhia are unique in that they exhibit Xiuhianni racial characteristics.
Jeshimal River—The primary river system of Amoteu, draining the Betmulla Mountains and emptying into the Meneanor Sea at Shimeh.
Jihads—Fanim holy wars. Since the inception of Fanimry, the Kianene have waged no fewer than seven jihads, all of them against the Nansur Empire.
Jirux—A great Kianene fortress on the north bank of the River Sempis.
Jiünati Steppe—A vast region of semi-arid plains extending northward from the Carathay Desert to the Istyuli Plains, and inhabited by Scylvendi pastoralists since the early years of the Second Age.
jnan—An informal code of manner and speech understood by many to be a “war of word and sentiment.” Adeptness at jnan is understood, particularly by the more refined subcultures of the Three Seas, to be the key determinant of status among individuals who are otherwise of equal caste or station. Given that the God is believed to be manifested in the movement of history, and history is determined primarily by the disparate statuses of men, for many jnan is understood as a sacred and not simply an instrumental enterprise. Many others, however, especially the Norsirai of the Three Seas, regard jnan with contempt, as a “mere game.” Jnanic exchanges are typically characterized by concealed antagonism, the appreciation of irony and intellect, and the semblance of detached interest.
Joktha—A port city on the Enathpanean coast.
Jorua Sea—A great inland sea located in mid-western Eärwa.
Journals and Dialogues—The collected writings of Triamis I, greatest of the Ceneian Aspect-Emperors.
Judges—The name given to Zaudunyani missionaries.
Jukan—The God of sky and season. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Jukan rivals Yatwer in popularity among subsistence farmers yet is scarcely represented in major urban centres. The priests of Jukan are readily recognizable by their blue-dyed skin. The Marjukari, an extreme ascetic branch of the Jukanic Cult, are notorious for living as hermits in the mountains.
Junriüma—Also known as the Vault-of-the-Tusk, the ancient fortress-temple that houses the Tusk, located in the heart of the Hagerna in Sumna.
Jurisada—A governorate of Kian and former province of the Nansur Empire. Located on the southeastern end of the Eumarnan Peninsula, Jurisada is an intensively agricultural region, densely populated, and thought to be a land of “spiritual sloth” by many Kianene.
Juru—God of virility and fertility. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Juru is popular among aging caste-noble men, and possesses only a handful of temples, most of them found in major cities. It is often mocked as the Mistress Cult.
Juterum, the—The so-called Sacred Heights in Shimeh, where, according to scripture, Inri Sejenus ascended to the Nail of Heaven.
Juürl, Holy—A founding scripture of the Nonmen, relating the story of Imimorûl, and the divine origins of their race. Very little of the text has been translated into Mannish tongues, though the opening verses, “The Invocation to Imimorûl,” are well known to Three Seas scholars:
Run, and breath becomes a blade.
Weep, and eyes become coals.
Live, and skin grows old.
Shout, and heart becomes sound.
Dance, and limbs become twirling gowns.
Love, Imimorûl! Leap, Deep Father!
Live, lest this skin grow old!
W
e are the beast that ponders what he prowls.
Dance for us, Deep Father!
Shout so that we might weep and know.
K
Kahiht—The name given to so-called World-Souls in the Inrithi tradition. Since the God manifests himself in the movement of historical events in Inrithism, to be Kahiht, or a world historical individual, is considered sacred.
Kairil—Ancient Ûmeri road that traverses the once-fertile plains of the lower River Aumris.
Kalaul—The great campus of the Csokis temple complex in Caraskand.
Kamposea Agora—A great bazaar adjacent to the temple complex of Cmiral in Momemn.
Kanampurea—A palatinate in the Conriyan interior, famed for its agricultural productivity, traditionally held by the brother of the Conriyan King.
Kanshaïva—A district of Nilnamesh.
kanti—A kind of antelope common to the Famiri grasslands.
Karian Way—An old Ceneian road running through the province of Massentia that once linked Sumna to Cenei during the reign of the Aspect-Emperors.
Karyot—A palatinate of High Ainon, located on the upper Sayut and forming the Jekhian frontier.
Kasalla, Porsentius (4062—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, one of the Nascenti, formerly a Captain in the Imperial Army. Killed at the Battle of Shimeh.
Kasaumki, Memshressa (4072—4121 )—Man-of-the-Tusk, one of the Nascenti, formerly a Conriyan knight.
Kascamandri ab Tepherokar (4062—4112)—The Padirajah of Kian, slain by the Warrior-Prophet at the Battle of Tertae Fields.
Kayarsus Mountains—See Great Kayarsus.
Ke—The wooded reserve of the Conriyan King in Aoknyssus.
Kellian Reconstitution—The reformation of the School of Mandate into the “Imperial School” in 4124 by Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Kelmeöl—The ancient capital of the Meöri Empire, destroyed in the Apocalypse in 2150.
Kemkaric—The language group of the ancient Ketyai pastoralists of the northwestern Three Seas.